Thursday, August 04, 2005

Gentlemen's Cooking Classic benefit for Southern U Spt Foundation to feature Iron Chef Jeremy Gilbert, artist in kitchen and at canvas

Among the culinary stars being featured at the Gentlemen's Cooking Classic benefit - Southern Univ at S'pt Foundation - at Expo Hall Saturday night is the seafood chef for the Cambridge Club, Jeremy Gilbert. The Times' Tim Greening wrote about Gilbert in its story on the Iron Chef competition, a feature added to the Classic this year by foundation director Felecia Williams-Scott and husband Jerry Scott.

Few know about the other side of Gilbert's life; he is a painter of growing skill and accomplishment.

Gilbert told me, "As far back as I can remember, I've always drawn. It started like with most children. Simple line drawings and such. Slowly I began incorporating elements of perspective, proportion, and shading, but I've always been afraid of color. The use of color was always something I considered to be out of my reach, since I marveled at the Renaissance painters and their brilliant understanding of it. It wasn't until the Fall of 2003, when I returned from a year and a half break from school, that I began painting in a class. It wasn't so much of what I learned in the class but simply the opportunity and responsibility to paint for assignments. My first piece was an absolute disaster. The second piece however, after hours upon layers of paint, I began seeing on canvas what I saw in my head. After that, the act of painting has become more mechanical, but the planning has become more complex."

"With my background and love of the culinary arts, I began painting subject matter that was related to my occupation as a chef. The theme of fish became reoccuring, as I had fresh subject matter delivered weekly to be butchered."

"Since I began painting however, I've lost the infatuation with the realists and have fallen in love with artists such as Gustav Klimt and Edward Hopper. I hope to become less objective in my future experience with art in general."

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